Boyds man sentenced to life for attempted murder of mother of his children

Defense likely to appeal judge's call for maximum sentence

A Boyds man was sentenced to life imprisonment in Montgomery County Circuit Court Tuesday morning for attempted first-degree murder, among other charges, stemming from a domestic violence case that occurred last December in Takoma Park.

Carlos Ivan Ovalle, 33, of Boyds, was also charged with one count each of first-degree assault and stalking, along with two counts of violating a court-ordered protective order, after he broke into the apartment of the mother of his children, Ana Glendy Valdez-Ramirez on Dec. 21. Ovalle waited for Ramirez to return to the apartment, after which he beat her with a crucifix, according to court documents and police reports.

Ovalle was holding a knife to Valdez's throat when Takoma Park Police Officer Angela Donovan responded to a call for a woman crying at the apartment at 12:13 a.m. at the 700 block of Hudson Avenue. Donovan forced her way into the apartment and shot Ovalle in the chest when he refused to drop the weapon. The bullet also struck Valdez when it passed through Ovalle and hit her arm.

Ovalle and Valdez's children -- two daughters, ages 4 and 5 -- were in the apartment when the incident occurred. Ovalle was tried and found guilty of all charges by a jury July 15.

At the sentencing Tuesday, Judge Durke G. Thompson sentenced Ovalle to life imprisonment along with an additional 20 years for the assault charge, five years for the stalking charge and one year each for the two violation charges.

"It is only by the timeliness, the intelligence and the training of [Officer Donovan] that Ms. Valdez's life was saved," Thompson said, adding that Ovalle was previously convicted of two counts of second-degree assault in 2005 and one violation of a court protective order in 2008, all dealing with Valdez.

Ovalle, speaking in Spanish through an interpreter, argued that he had not planned to kill Valdez.

"I have not been duly tried," Ovalle said, testifying against the advice of his defense attorney, Samuel Delgado. "I made a mistake; but she provoked me and I was drunk when I assaulted her. ... It never crossed my mind to kill her, the mother of my children."

Thompson rejected Ovalle's argument, admonishing him for attempting to blame Valdez for his acts and repeating the jury's decision that Ovalle's acts had been premeditated and would have led to Valdez's murder had the officer not arrived.

Valdez also testified before the court, standing alongside Assistant State's Attorney Jessica Hall to plead with the judge for life imprisonment for Ovalle. If ever Ovalle was released from prison, she would fear for the lives and safety of herself and her children, Valdez said.

"Were it not for Ms. Valdez-Ramirez's actions on that night, were it not for the actions of the police officer that night, we would not be here for what we are today," Hall told the judge. "We would be here for the sentencing of [a murder]."

Delgado said he was disappointed that Ovalle received life imprisonment and that he plans to appeal the sentence. He had argued in the sentencing that Ovalle did not intend to kill Valdez and deserved a sentence that would "allow him to better himself, ... a sentence that gives him some hope, some light at the end of the tunnel."

"I knew coming in here that he would get hit pretty hard," Delgado said after the sentencing. "I'll be filing a notice of appeal in the next 48 hours and informing the court of our intent to appeal the sentence."

When reached for comment after the sentencing, Hall would not comment in detail about the judge's sentence. She only added that "We think that it is a fair and appropriate sentence."

Ovalle's mother and other family members were also present at the meeting, but refused to comment when asked about the case. Valdez also refused to comment further after the case.